Research References

The following is a collection of research papers documenting the reported benefits of psilocybin, grouped by topic area and sorted by date. Where this research has been reported on by the general media, the media item is listed first as it often provides an easier to understand description of findings. The related research report follows the general media item. The areas covered by this collection include:

Mental Illness

Research into the effects of psilocybin has shown it may have positive benefits in treating a host of mental illnesses, including PTSD, depression, suicidality, anxiety, and OCD, as well as by increasing general wellness. Notably, preliminary clinical evidence from using psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression has shown that it offers such a substantial improvement over available therapy that the FDA granted it “Breakthrough Status” in the fall of 2018. This will speed up its progress through the rest of the approval process.

Report Takeaways: Lab mice were initially trained to fear a stimulus. The fear response was such that some remained immobile for long periods of time, mirroring how veterans with PTSD react to traumatic memories. Mice then treated with various levels of psilocybin were then able to overcome this fear response.

Report Takeaways: There were seven clinical trials that investigated psilocybin-assisted therapy as a treatment for psychiatric disorders related to anxiety, depression, and substance use. All trials demonstrated reductions in psychiatric rating scale scores or increased response and remission rates. There were large effect sizes related to improved depression and anxiety symptoms. Psilocybin may also potentially reduce alcohol or tobacco use and increase abstinence rates in addiction, but the benefits of these two trials were less clear due to open-label study designs without statistical analysis.

Report Takeaways: Relative to baseline, depressive symptoms in patients with Treatment Resistant Depression were markedly reduced 1 week and 3 months after high-dose treatment. Marked and sustained improvements in anxiety and anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure) were also noted.

Report Takeaways: Lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with a significantly reduced odds of past month psychological distress, past year suicidal thinking, past year suicidal planning, and past year suicide attempt, whereas lifetime illicit use of other drugs was largely associated with an increased likelihood of these outcomes. These findings indicate that classic psychedelics may hold promise in the prevention of suicide, supporting the view that classic psychedelics' most highly restricted legal status should be reconsidered to facilitate scientific study, and suggesting that more extensive clinical research with classic psychedelics is warranted.

Report Takeaways: One month after sessions at the two highest doses, volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as having substantial personal and spiritual significance, andattributed to the experience sustained positive changes in attitudes, mood, and behavior, with the ascending dose sequence showing greater positive effects.

Report Takeaways: Experience with psychedelic drugs is associated with decreased risk of opioid abuse and dependence. Conversely, other illicit drug use history is largely associated with increased risk of opioid abuse and dependence. These findings suggest that psychedelics are associated with positive psychological characteristics and are consistent with prior reports suggesting efficacy in treatment of substance use disorders.

Report Takeaways: Study participants diagnosed with active alcohol dependence did not demonstrate a significant increased ability to abstain from alcohol after receiving therapy alone for four weeks. Following psilocybin administration and continued therapy, their ability to abstain from drinking alcohol was significantly increased and were largely maintained at follow-up to 36 weeks. There were no significant treatment-related adverse events. These preliminary findings provide a strong rationale for controlled trials with larger samples to investigate efficacy and mechanisms.

Report Takeaways: A study of 15 nicotine-dependent smokers that were given psilocybin found that 12 of them had ceased smoking at a 6 month follow up according to the seven-day point prevalence measure of abstinence.

Report Takeaways: In conjunction with psychotherapy, single moderate-dose psilocybin produced rapid, robust and enduring anxiety reduction and anti-depressant effects in patients with cancer-related psychological distress.

Report Takeaways: High-dose psilocybin produced large decreases in clinician- and self-rated measures of depressed mood and anxiety, along with increases in quality of life, life meaning, and optimism, and decreases in death anxiety. At 6-month follow-up, these changes were sustained, with about 80% of participants continuing to show clinically significant decreases in depressed mood and anxiety. Participants attributed improvements in attitudes about life/self, mood, relationships, and spirituality to the high-dose experience, with >80% endorsing moderately or greater increased well-being/life satisfaction. Community observer ratings showed corresponding changes.

Report Takeaways: We found a sustained reduction in anxiety that reached significance at the 1- and 3-month points after treatment. Mood also improved for 2 weeks after treatment with psilocybin, with sustained improvement reaching significance at the 6-month follow-up point.

Pain & Cluster Headaches

Report Takeaways: Based on user accounts, psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, and related psychedelic tryptamines were reportedly effective for both prophylactic and acute treatment of cluster headache and migraines.

Report Takeaways: Based on a user survey of 496 participants, the indoleamine hallucinogens, psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, and lysergic acid amide, were comparable to or more efficacious than most conventional medications. These agents were also perceived to shorten/abort a cluster period and bring chronic cluster headache into remission more so than conventional medications. Furthermore, infrequent and non-hallucinogenic doses were reported to be efficacious. Findings provide additional evidence that several indoleamine hallucinogens are rated as effective in treating cluster headache. These data reinforce the need for further investigation of the effects of these and related compounds in cluster headache under experimentally controlled settings.

Report Takeaways: Tentative findings based on tests of creativity, on subjective reports and self ratings, and on the utility of problem solutions suggested that, if given according to this carefully structured regimen, psychedelic agents seem to facilitate creative problem-solving, particularly in the “illumination phase.” The results also suggest that various degrees of increased creative ability may continue for at least some weeks subsequent to a psychedelic problem-solving session.

Report Takeaways: Psilocybin significantly increased emotional, but not cognitive empathy compared with placebo, and the increase in implicit emotional empathy was significantly associated with psilocybin-induced changed meaning of percepts. In contrast, moral decision-making remained unaffected by psilocybin.

Safety

Psilocybin has been shown to be physiologically non addictive, the safest drug to take in terms of needing to seek emergency medical treatment, and the least harmful drug both to the user and to others.

Report Takeaways: Psilocybin mushrooms have been used for millennia for spiritual and medical purposes. Animal and human studies indicate low abuse and no physical dependence potential. Major national surveys indicate low rates of abuse, treatment-seeking and harm. Psilocybin may provide therapeutic benefits supporting its development as a new drug.

Report Takeaways: Out of almost 10,000 last year magic mushroom consumers, only 0.2% (13 men and 4 women) reported seeking emergency medical treatment. Magic mushrooms were the safest drugs to take in terms of needing to see emergency medical treatment according to the Global Drug Survey 2017.

Report Takeaways: In the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2001 to 2004), 21,967 respondents reported lifetime psychedelic use. There were no significant associations between lifetime use of any psychedelics, lifetime use of specific psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, peyote), or past year use of LSD and increased rate of any of the mental health outcomes. Rather, in several cases psychedelic use was associated with lower rate of mental health problems.

Report Takeaways: Out of 20 drugs (including alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and steroids) that were assessed as to the harm they incur upon users and to others, mushrooms were the least harmful in both categories.

Crime

Psilocybin use has been associated with reduced odds of various crimes, including theft, assault, property crime and violent crime. In contrast, use of other illicit drugs has largely been associated with increased odds of these crimes.

Report Takeaways: Psilocybin use was associated with reduced odds of past year theft, past year assault, past year arrest for a property crime, and past year arrest for a violent crime, and, in contrast, lifetime illicit use of other drugs was, by and large, associated with an increased odds of these outcomes.